


Claudia's Son

by Dagger_Stiletto



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Angst, Fluff, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Hurt Stiles Stilinski, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Pre-Relationship, Rape Recovery, Spark Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:07:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21761365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dagger_Stiletto/pseuds/Dagger_Stiletto
Summary: After Claudia's death, the Stilinskis struggle to get through living without her. Along the way, the Hales watch out for them, and Stiles comes into the magical inheritance no one expected--at least not this soon--and immediately throws Beacon Hills into turmoil as he tries to save his extended family from the Argents.
Relationships: Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 36
Kudos: 536





	Claudia's Son

**Author's Note:**

> This was beta-read by my lovely friend dvoiddubs! Check them out on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DubTheVoid?s=07) and [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChDuMJQ0jDuSzqKfoJLUNBg) for their amazing voice-acting and dubs! Support my friend-bean!
> 
> This would have been uploaded a loooooong time ago if the email I sent to dvoiddubs hadn't gotten lost in the matrix or some shit, but three months after I first wrote it up, it is finally here for your viewing enjoyment.

_Talia Hale packs up the cheesy corned beef_ casserole and the two apple pies she and her husband Samuel had made this morning into insulated travel bags so they'll be safe on the trip to town. She ushers her children into the SUV, all except Laura, who is away at uni. Her usually energetic spawn are subdued, as is appropriate for the occasion.

  
The wife of Beacon Hill's beloved Sheriff had passed. Everyone in Beacon Hills is in lower spirits, although 90% are not aware of the reason why.

  
Claudia Zuzanna Gajos Stilinski had been a bright, shining beacon of warmth and comfort before her illness took its toll. Her son, fondly nicknamed Mischief or Stiles, had been her joy, her most precious treasure, and is just as cheerful and loving as she. Claudia made everyone she touched happier, imbued them with a healing lightness to an otherwise heavy soul, and the Hale Pack are indebted to her surviving family for all the good she had done for them in her short life.

  
For the next month or so, Talia and Samuel have resolved to keep an eye on Noah and their Mieczyslaw, to be sure they cope well enough, and make sure they are cared for. They have already donated enough funds for the remaining medical bills and the funeral costs--anonymously so Noah can't even protest--and now they are headed to the Stilinski home. It is two days after the funeral, and what family had attended have already vacated Beacon Hills, so Mieczyslaw and Noah are alone now. Tomorrow, Noah is to return to work.

  
What his son will do is still up in the air.

  
The drive out of the Preserve into town is unusually quiet. She and Sam attempt to keep a light conversation all the way down, but Cora and Derek don't take the bait. Cora is Stiles' age and has been his friend for the better part of two years, so she's appropriately worried for him. Derek understands more the loss of family and the loss of an incredible force that Claudia was; he had been there when Claudia eased his grandmother's--Talia's mother's--pain before her death.

  
When they pull up to the house, they see Stiles sitting on the front porch swing, curled up with his arms around his legs, and his knees hiding his face. It takes less than a second for Cora to burst out of the SUV and run to her friend, curling up beside him and scentmarking him in an attempt to comfort. He picks his head up to acknowledge her, and Talia hears him whisper that his dad is holed up in the office.

  
Talia glances at Sam, who waves her off, grabbing the insulated bags with Derek. The Hale Alpha heads up to the house and pauses only to kiss the top of Stiles' head before continuing inside.

  
It is eerily quiet and gloomy. Like all of the life had been sucked out of it upon Claudia's passing, despite how she'd been in the hospital for the past two months. Noah had admitted her when he came home to her rocking on the kitchen floor with a chef's knife in hand, facing the pantry door, which closed with a chair...Stiles locked inside, crying with a bruised cheek and sprained wrist.

  
The pain in the house lingers, amplified by loss. This house has seen the devastation of a truly luminescent being losing her light to illness, and they all know that that hadn't been the only time Stiles had been harmed.

  
Not that the loyal, loving ten-year-old would ever speak out about it. Not even to his father.

  
Talia tries not to linger, to focus on the smell of emotional anguish and irreparable loss, as she moves through the quiet house. She steps to the door of Noah's office and doesn't need to take a deep breath to smell the whiskey. She does anyway, lets it out slowly. Then she pushes the door open.

  
Noah Stilinski is slumped in his seat, head tilted back on the back of the chair as he stares up at the ceiling, fist closed around the neck of a bottle of Jack Daniels. The pictures of his family are turned toward the wall or facedown on the surfaces they sit upon. He looks haggard, sleep-deprived and defeated. His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows and lifts his hand to bring the bottle back to his lips.

  
Talia is there to stop the bottle's short journey. "That's enough of that," she says, not unkindly but firm all the same. It takes very little effort to wrest the whiskey from him, hand cupping the back of his head and bringing him forward again. She put the whiskey down and out of reach on the messy desk.

  
"What are you doing here, Talia?" Noah demands gruffly, though he doesn't fight her.

  
"Someone needs to check up on you, Stilinski," she replies. "My family volunteers." She stoops to his eye level, expression grave, staring into his glazed gaze. "You have a little boy outside on a swing that just lost his mother. I know it hurts, Noah, but he needs you more than you need that bottle. Don't make him lose his father so soon."

  
It seems to take a moment, but Noah understands. She can see it in the slowly dawning clarity of his washed-out blue eyes. He wipes a stray tear and uses both hands to roughly rub his face, clearing his throat. Talia gives him a moment before straightening her posture.

  
"I'm not saying don't drink at all," she tells him. "We all have our vices and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Just don't do it around Stiles. He doesn't get the luxury of that escape, and he still needs his dad around." She puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. "Go upstairs and shower. It'll help sober you up, and Stiles won't need to know. Sam and I brought dinner, and Cora and Derek can distract him in the meantime."

  
He nods and heaves himself to his feet. Talia is pleased to see he wasn't so far gone that he'd need assistance walking. She turns to exit the office ahead of him. "Talia," Noah calls, and she pauses, looking back over her shoulder. He swallows and lifts his head a little. "Thanks."

  
Talia smiles and nods. No other words are needed.

  
Samuel has corralled all three kids into the kitchen, where Cora practically has skinny little Stiles tugged into her lap; the boy doesn't seem at all concerned with the position, proximity, or the abnormal strength Cora possesses. Derek is fetching plates and silverware to help his father dish out the still warm casserole. Talia moves to the fridge, finding some leftover veggie mix in tupperware that she pulls out to warm up. She ruffles Derek's hair as she passes him, much to his displeasure, ever the grumpy teen.

  
"Your dad will join us in about twenty minutes, Stiles," Talia says gently, popping the tupperware in the old microwave. "He needed a shower before dinner."

  
"Thank you, Mrs. Hale," Stiles mumbles from where his face is half-concealed in Cora's hoodie.

  
"Talia, sweetie. We've been over this." She bends to press a kiss to his temple, and Cora sneaks her a knowing look at the subtle scenting.

  
"Did he drink all of it?" Stiles whispers before she can pull away, drawing her up short with surprise. 

  
Talia blinks, startled, and she can see a deeper knowledge in those cinnamon-honey eyes than should be there in one so young. It makes her wonder what else he has seen, what he knows. She knows Claudia would not have told their secret, but if Stiles had even a flicker of his mother's power, then she may not have hidden it either.

  
"No," she says, hoping she hadn't paused too long.

  
The young boy gazes at her for an almost uncomfortably long moment, and eventually seems to accept the answer as truth. He drops his head back down on Cora's shoulder, and the Alpha matriarch continues assisting her husband and middle child.

  
By the time Noah has joined them, hair still shower-damp, dressed in a ragged T-shirt and jeans, barefoot--as dressed down as Talia can remember ever seeing him--Stiles in his own chair, Talia is eating beside her husband at the counter, and everyone has their own plate. A plate waits for him between Stiles and Derek, so the man lumbers over, ruffling Stiles' buzzcut on the way passed. He sits heavily, but his expression is grateful.

  
Conversation turns to what Noah's plans are in regards to Stiles after school or when the Sheriff has to pull night shifts. As mature as the ten-year-old can be, as smart as he can be, he still is not old enough to be left alone in the house for long periods of time. Melissa McCall, as wonderful as she is, cannot be expected to babysit him, especially with her current divorce proceedings and long shifts at the hospital. Talia offers to take her daughter's favorite friend whenever they need, and Cora beams. Derek grumbles but doesn't outright protest, and Noah glances at Sam to be sure he agrees before he thanks both Hales for the offer.

  
Stiles is quiet, only ever responding when Cora directly says something to him.

  
"Stiles, do you want to go to the Hales' house tomorrow?" Noah asks, hand clasping and rubbing his son's shoulder. "you're not expected back at school until Monday. I can drive you to their place before I head to work." He glances to Talia. "I was originally just going to bring him to the station. There's enough desk jockeys to keep an eye out for him."

  
"Sure. Cora and I can hang out after she comes home from school," Stiles responds, though it's clear he's putting on a brave face for his dad. Talia's heart breaks a little more for them.

  
Cora beams and lightly bumps Stiles' shoulder. He smiles at her and takes one last bite of the casserole on his plate. He gets up to take his plate and silverware to the sink. When everyone is done with their meals, he takes over the dishes, and it seems to make Noah sad, watching him.

  
The Hales stick around for a while longer, until the sun has long since passed. Stiles ends up falling asleep on the couch despite the remaining guests, and Noah admits the boy hasn't slept more than a few hours each night since Claudia's passing. The Sheriff had been on-duty. Stiles had been there clutching her hand at the very moment she'd exhaled her last breath.

  
Talia hears her son let a whimper too quiet for humans to hear. Noah scoops Stiles up and carries him up to his room and the Alpha hugs Derek to comfort him, so grateful her children have not had to experience a pain like Stiles has. They had not known Talia's mother well, so while they mourned, they didn't feel much more than the grief of a broken pack-bond. Talia's father had been dead long before Derek was old enough to remember.

  
Once Noah has finished tucking Stiles into bed, he comes back down to thank them and see them out. He tells them he'll have Stiles at their home at 8am, and he pats Cora's back when she hugs him before they all pack into the SUV to leave. In the rearview mirror, they see him watch them drive away until his human eyes can no longer see, turns off the porch light, and goes inside.

  
~*~~*~*~*~~*~

  
_A month passes slowly. Beacon Hills manages to_ recover, plodding along with that molasses speed most small towns have. The Stilinskis somehow drag themselves through their grief. Stiles bounces between homes. Sometimes he's with Scott McCall, his best guy friend, and his mom Melissa; sometimes he's at home or at the station with his dad and the on-duty police force, who treat him like a nephew or little brother; and sometimes he's at the Hales'. 

  
Talia and Melissa touch base with each other, both women pseudo-adopting the ten-year-old and keeping each other apprised of his condition. He's lost a little weight, seems to be getting the bare minimum of sleep, just enough to get by in school. Cora reports his grades have slipped from all A's to B's and a C--out of character but not too worrisome at this point. Both moms take it upon themselves to teach him how to cook, at least enough to help his dad when the man is home. He's young yet, not at all at the stage where he can be trusted alone around a stove, but it helps him focus on something else for a while.

  
The second month is easier. Stiles' regains his GPA, much to Lydia Martin's displeasure. He gains a bully in Jackson Whittemore, not that Cora lets that stay for long. She earns herself a three-day suspension by blackening his eye, but Talia can't bring herself to punish her daughter beyond the obligatory scolding and a reminder to be sure to pull her strength when in altercations with humans. Jackson had deserved it, after all, bullying Stiles just because he's smarter and smaller is no excuse, and Scott had gotten so worked up that he had a severe asthma attack, which had spurred the bully to escalate, laughing as the other boy struggled to breath, even attempting to take away his inhaler before Cora jumped in swinging.

  
Jackson is given a seven-day suspension. Mr. Whittemore threatens to sue. The only people who care provide evidence that the blond boy was the aggressor via the school's video surveillance, and the threats are dropped.

  
Stiles goes missing for a little bit on his mother's birthday. He leaves school during lunch period, and the principal calls Noah at work to report that he hasn't shown up for two of his afternoon classes, which is entirely out of character for the young boy. An hour-long, town-wide search ends with Derek and Cora finding him at the cemetery, curled up in front of Claudia's headstone, apparently having cried himself to sleep. When he gets there, Noah lets out a broken sob and lays down beside his baby to cry and hold the son he'd lost for a few hours too long.

  
The Hales stand watch, outside of normal human earshot, and Cora just barely manages not to cry too.

  
One day towards the end of October, Derek comes out of the house to go on an afternoon run before dinner, and he stops in surprise when he spots Stiles at the trees' edge surrounding the yard portion of their expansive property, staring at the Hale Pack's house. His expression is blank, a little dazed. His breathing is slow but even, his heart rate normal--for him, as he has a weird skip from a heart murmur. He's barefoot. He is definitely not dressed well enough for the autumn chill. He's still, unmoving, unblinking for several minutes. Derek wonders how long he has been here.

  
Derek heads over to the younger boy, concerned for his--friend? He's not really thought of it, but he's fond of him, sometimes even would rather spend time with him than his fellow teenage schoolmates. "Stiles? Buddy, are you okay?" the fifteen-year-old asks cautiously, wondering if he should call for his mother. She usually is far better at handling emotional problems, whereas Derek is far better with the physical.

  
The Sheriff's son doesn't react. He doesn't even blink or twitch an eyelash. It's eerie, seeing him so still when he's usually far too animated to keep up with, even for werewolves. The hairs on Derek's arms rise. He swallows back a nervous noise and searches with his eyes for injuries. Aside from the scrapes on his bare feet from traveling from who knows where all the way out to the middle of the Preserve, Stiles seems unharmed.

  
Derek touches Stiles' shoulder with a soft call of his name, trying to get his attention.

  
It's like a switch is flipped. In an instant, Stiles whips around and grips Derek's arm like it's a lifeline. His heartbeat cranks up drastically, and his breathing is no longer calm, more like the panicked breathing of a startled rabbit. Derek yelps in surprise, feels the immediate reaction of his alert Alpha mother, sensing her en route.

  
Stiles is babbling something, but even with his enhanced hearing, Derek can't tell what he's saying. He clutches the human, spouting his own word vomit along the lines of "What's wrong? Stiles, calm down, it's okay," over and over. He swears he sees those honey-whiskey eyes flash gold and violet, but he can't be sure, can't focus, panicked in his own right.

  
"Stiles! Sweetie, what's wrong?" Talia cries, suddenly there, and she has a hold of the human's fragile body, hugging him and trying to calm him while protecting him from an unknown assailant. His hands still clutch at Derek, and Derek isn't inclined to pry him off.

  
She's going to kill you!" Stiles cries out, finally something coherent spilling from his lips. There's no lie-blip in his rapid heartbeat, and Derek is terrified that a ten-year-old believes someone would actually kill him!

  
"What? Stiles, what do you mean? Who are you talking about?" Talia asks, and a tinge of crimson leaks into her dark irises, flicking about to scan for Hunters in the trees.

  
"Kate!" He claws at Derek, desperate, eyes locked on him. "Kate is! Kate's going to kill you. Kate's gonna kill you all."

  
Derek's breath catches. No one else knew about Kate! He is always very careful. He showers thoroughly so her scent is never on him when he rejoins family, the marks she gives him never stay, and she's smart. So smart and pretty, and she hurts him but always tells him it's supposed to hurt so it's fine, but no one is supposed to know. She wouldn't be able to love him anymore if people know. How does Stiles know?!

  
"Stiles, you're not making sense, sweetheart," Talia says, ever the voice of reason. She is so focused on the human child that she doesn't notice her own son's distress. By now, Samuel has come up, and he's rubbing Derek's back, trying to keep his freaked son calm, too. "Calm down, honey, so we can understand, Stiles. Just take a few deep breaths." She pressed her front to his back so she can guide his breathing.

  
"His eyes are flashing gold and purple, Talia," Samuel remarks quietly.

  
"What?!" Her head dips to get a closer look, and she gasps, arms tightening around Stiles. "Oh no, his Spark manifested early," Talia whispers, eyes wide. She keeps her breathing steady, as it seems to have succeeded in calming Stiles down significantly, though his heart is still off, fingers still clutching Derek.

  
"Derek, she's gonna kill your family," Stiles wheezes, wide brown-gold-violet eyes desperate as he stares imploringly at the teen. "She's bad, Derek, she keeps hurting you, and she's going to kill them all! Even Cora! Even the humans. She hates werewolves, Derek, she hates you, and her dad is gonna help her burn your house down with everyone inside, Derek please!"

  
"Derek, who is he talking about?" Talia demands, eyes switching over to him with worry. "Who is Kate?"

  
Derek swallows hard, heart rapid in his chest with the panic. He isn't supposed to tell, no one is supposed to know, Kate will be so angry! But Stiles knows, Stiles told, but if Stiles says Kate is going to hurt them, then he must be telling the truth. Stiles doesn't lie, not ever! He omits things, keeps secrets, but he has never actually _lied_ as long as Derek has known him. Derek can't lie to his mom. Stiles will tell, and the lie will be there in his heart for them to hear.

  
"Kate--Kate's the substitute teacher filling in for Ms. Andrews," Derek stammers, chest clenching. He can't look at his parents, eyes locked on Stiles almost desperately.

  
"And she _hurts you_?!" Talia demands, Alpha snarl twisting her face, deepening her voice, making him tremble. Derek can't help but notice the human pressed against her doesn't seem to fear or mind the change.

  
"No! Um, she... I mean, we--" 

  
"She fucks him," Stiles says, and it's startling and so so wrong, so awful, to hear a sweet ten-year-old like Mieczyslaw Stilinski say such a filthy word. "Makes him do things he doesn't like, but he does them anyway because she says that's what you do when you love someone. He cries in the shower so she doesn't hear because she makes him wash her scent off so no one else knows."

  
Stiles heartbeat is steady, if a little elevated with anxiety and adrenaline, and the Hales stare at him in awe and dismay, tears running down Derek's face as he's outed. Even Talia isn't sure how to react, although she has an arm reached out to her son now, needing to comfort her baby.

  
"But when she goes home, she tells Mr. Argent what she knows, which isn't much yet because Derek knows better than to spill secrets. But in a few months, he's gonna crack, and she's gonna be so happy with him. She's going to be a little nice, because he's giving her what she wants. And then he's going to ask her to come to the Hale family reunion, because he wants to show off his girlfriend, and she can pull off the teen look if she does her makeup just right so Talia won't suspect a thing until it's too late. He tells her about the tunnels. They meet in town before the reunion, and she insists on a 'quickie' before they go, and she uses a wolfsbane tranq on him. She and a few of her dad's men block the tunnels with mountain ash, surround the house with it, and they set the house on fire with everyone inside."

  
By now, Stiles is back to hyperventilating, and he clings to Derek and Talia with frantic strength. "Uncle Peter somehow survives even though he covered the twins with his body and got the worst of the fire. He'll have 75% of his body covered in third degree burns. Laura arrives late, so she'll live. She'll find Derek wandering in the Preserve, sick from the wolfsbane and trying to find his home that's not there anymore. Peter will die in the hospital. Laura is driven crazy from the Alpha Spark because one beta isn't enough to stabilize her. She'll try to Turn people to save herself, and the Hunters will come back to finish off the remaining Hales."

  
"It's all right, Stiles, it's okay. You don't have to say anymore," Talia says, trying to get the boy out of the trance again. Her arms are tight around him, sitting down with him for a better grip. His grip on Derek drags him down, too. "Hush, Stiles. Everything will be okay. We won't let it happen. You told us in time to stop it. Deep breaths, sweetheart."

  
"I'm calling the Sheriff," Samuel announces before taking a few steps away, pulling out his phone. 

  
Derek is shell-shocked. He can do little more than sit on the ground with his mother and sister's best friend. His head is full of horror, disbelief. He feels sick. His throat clicks when he swallows. "Mom?"

  
"Don't worry, Derek," the Hale Alpha says, not bothering to hide her crimson eyes. "We'll get help. Kate will not be hurting my family anymore than she has." She drops fang for just a second, protective instincts at the forefront. 

  
"I'm--I'm sorry," he sobs, heart breaking at the thought of potentially endangering his family when all he'd been doing is trying to be loved.

  
"This is _not_ your fault," she says vehemently. Her arm snaps out to grab his shirt, dragging him close. They nearly squish Stiles between them, but the boy doesn't protest, and she tucks Derek under her chin against her throat. "Kate is an adult, and she took advantage of a sweet boy who never would have thought his girlfriend would try to murder his entire family just because of their species." She hugs him tight, and Derek sobs, cuddling close to her as the emotions washed over him, too much to handle, a dam of despair and the psychological stress he'd been hiding all this time crumbling.

  
Samuel rejoins them, pressing close to Derek's back. They don't move for a long time, taking comfort from each other, shaken by the horrific story that had spilled from the lips of a usually bubbly boy.

  
The sound of a familiar vehicle pulling up to their house attracts their attention, and they turn toward the noise. "It's Alan," Samuel says, starting to get up. He dusts off his pants while their Emissary scrambles out of his truck. Derek stands, too, and helps Talia up while she cradles Stiles, who seems to have passed out or fallen asleep.

  
"Alpha Hale," Alan Deaton, resident veterinarian and adult Druid, calls over, eyes wide. "The wards told me of a Spark coming into their powers." He pauses, eyes on Stiles, and his hands twitch. "But it can't be. He shouldn't have manifested until his late teens, early twenties! And he's so powerful already..." 

  
"How powerful would you say, Alan?" Talia asks, tucking Stiles close as though he is a toddler napping on her shoulder.

  
"The signature is so much like Claudia's, but so _much more_ ," the young Druid says, amazed. "It's like she infused her son with her own magic to combine with his. The nemeton even responded!" 

  
"Anything was possible with Claudia," Talia murmurs, emotion making her voice tight. She clutches Stiles tight to her, protective. "The only thing she couldn't do was save herself. He will need training, Alan."

  
"I will have to reach out," the vet says, shaking his head sadly. "Sparks are normally trained within the family, traditionally by the parent or relative from whom they inherited the gift. Not only has Claudia passed, but she left her Spark behind in her son. She inherited from her mother, who has been deceased for many years. It may take time." He pauses, then frowns. "Does his father know?"

  
"As far as I am aware, Noah knows nothing of the supernatural," Talia responds. "If he knows, he is very good at keeping it a secret."

  
"I called him to let him know Stiles just appeared on our property, acting out of character and claiming to know about Derek being sexually abused by a teacher," Samuel interjects. He clasps his hand around the back of Derek's neck when the teen flinches and whines. At Alan's inquisitive expression, he adds, "We will fill you in later. For now, the Sheriff is on his way. There will be an investigation, after all."

  
"Someone call Peter," Talia orders. "We will need a lawyer if it's the Argents."

  
Everyone moves inside while Samuel makes the phone call to Uncle Peter. They crowd around Derek protectively, as if Kate is about to jump out from behind a tree or come barreling down the hallway. Gathering in the living room to wait, Stiles is placed on one of the couches, and Cora, who had been unaware of everything due to the earbuds blaring pop music in her head, fetches a pillow and blanket. Though she is confused about what is happening, she remains with them, sensing that her brother needs comfort and her friend has suffered an ordeal. Talia quietly asks Derek what happened before she showed up to the scene of Stiles flipping out, and he quietly answers truthfully.

  
When Noah arrives, he is led to the lounge area where his boy is passed out. Once he confirms that, aside from his feet, he is unharmed, Talia and Alan Deaton launch into an explanation of what had happened and why. At first, they just stick to the details about Stiles' magical awakening. Derek watches form the other couch, curled into his dad for solace, face buried partially into his shoulder and neck so he can get the best access to the older man's scent. Cora switches over to cuddle against her brother, since she can sense deeper distress emanating from him. Derek calms a little more, grabbing and holding her hand like he hasn't done in maybe too long.

  
They explain the magic that Stiles inherited the gift from his mother. They theorize that his mother must have imbued him with her magic, for it to be so powerful at such a young age without training. Surprisingly, Noah takes it all in stride, sitting on the couch with Stiles cuddled in his lap. He admits he'd noticed things a little extraordinary about Claudia, strange things about select citizens. The sometimes unexplained crimes around town are now a little clearer for him, as well. 

  
"So what exactly caused Stiles to manifest now?" the Sheriff queries, hand compulsively petting through his son's hair.

  
"He came to us with a premonition," Talia admits, having retired to sit in an armchair. Dr. Deaton stands close but to the side, watching. "Derek found him on the edge of the treeline, apparently catatonic, like sleepwalking, staring at our house. When he touched Stiles' shoulder, he went a little wild and panicky, clinging to Derek like he was the only thing that was going to keep him on the ground. I heard the commotion and came out with Sam to see what was happening."

  
Talia pauses to take a calming breath. Derek can't help but mimic her, eyes trained on her as his scent sours with anxiety. Cora burrows closer to him, as if she could rub the scent out with her body, and Samuel tightens his hold around his only son. Noah is quiet, respectful, alert, seeming aware that despite his position of a father holding his distressed son, his role right now is as the Sheriff of Beacon Hills.

  
"Stiles told us that Kate Argent has been sexually abusing Derek, that she has been trying to get secrets out of him under the guise of loving him, and that she and her father Gerard are planning to murder us all." She swallows hard, and Derek whimpers, squeezing his eyes shut. "He says that Kate is going to whittle away at Derek until he cracks, using sex and pain to get what she wants, and then they'll somehow manage to lock us all in the house during the reunion. They'll set fire to the house, humans and children be damned." She leaves out that Peter, Derek, and Laura will survive, because in the end, they don't. Specifics aren't important, only the trauma and how to prevent it is relevant. Survival is relevant.

  
"How old is this Kate?" Noah demands, chocking through the horror, in full cop mode. His eyes are sharp and shine with the promise of his own type of murder.

  
"She's a substitute teacher in Beacon Hills High School," Samuel remarks, so Derek doesn't have to. "Her father is the principal, if I remember correctly."

  
"I assume you've already sent for Peter?" At Talia's nod, Noah continues, "Good. I'm calling the DA's office. We'll need the both of them to put these sick fucks away."

  
When Peter arrives, Stiles has been awake for 30 minutes, and he has been plied with juice and a chicken sandwich to help with his tiredness and the magical exhaustion he's never experienced before. He's snuggled up between Cora and Derek while the adults bring Peter up to speed and start devising a plan.

  
It's decided that the story will be that Derek will claim that Stiles noticed a mark made by Kate's advances and asked him what it was, and in a moment of weakness, Derek confessed to what was happening. It only makes sense that the Sheriff's son would then get his father involved, especially with Stiles' track record--a year prior, Stiles had noticed signs of abuse on a classmate named Isaac Lahey; he'd told his dad, and not long after, Isaac had been placed in his maternal aunt's house and his father imprisoned for multiple counts of child abuse and child endangerment.

  
"How are we going to get proof of marks, though?" Cora asks, confused. "We heal almost instantly, unless we don't want to. Wouldn't this mean Derek will have to allow that teacher to mark him up just to prove what she's been doing?"

  
"That will _never_ happen," Talia growls, eyes flashing. "I'll kill her before I let the Argent bitch touch my son again."

  
"I could bring them back with magic," Stiles remarks simply, and everyone turns to look at him with wide eyes. "What? I found Mom's journal. I've been doing a lot of research on it." 

  
"So you could make his injuries return and stay long enough for us to build a case, or at least get photos for the evidence we need?" Noah asks, a little breathless as he hears his son admit the existence of his own power, which only makes it all the more real.

  
"I could make the marks come back as if fresh, and then use a spell to make Derek heal as slow as a human does," Stiles replies with a confident nod. "Only thing is that any new injuries he gets won't heal either. For a month, his body would react like a human's. He'll still have the Werewolf immune system, strength, sense of smell, et cetera. Just not the healing factor."

  
"Are you sure you can do that, Stiles?" Talia asks gently. "You've not had proper training with your Spark. I find myself concerned that you may be taking on something too large for you just because your magic is new and exciting."

  
"Mom's journal says all I truly need is to believe something is possible, if all else fails," Stiles replies simply. "I have been kind of practicing on my own at home. I'm already pretty good at protection charms and basic wards. Mom hid lots of books under my bed for me to read." 

  
"If you indeed can do as you say, it may behoove us to have a few of those marks and bruises to appear old," Peter says, looking over his nephew clinically. "It will be more believable that Ms. Argent has been involved with for quite some time."

  
Stiles nods solemnly, despite his father's concern. He turns to Derek and hesitantly lays a hand on his arm. While the Hales, Deaton, and the Sheriff watch, awestruck and nervous in equal parts, Stiles closes his eyes, lips parted slightly, and concentrates, pushing Derek's sleeve up to reveal and touch bare skin.

  
Slowly but surely, marks begin blooming across Derek's skin before their eyes. Derek swallows, nervous, scared, as he watches bruises and scratches that had healed almost instantly--which had only made Kate try harder to hurt and mark him--returning to remind him of what he's endured. Embarrassment colors the teen's face. His breath quickens. The return of the wounds also brought the ache and soreness, the harsh sting and burning of the many mild scratches and deeper lacerations. His feet throb from where she'd taken a cane to the bottoms of them only days ago. He gasps when the wounds beneath his waist flare into existence, and he whimpers at the marks on his back, thighs, and...the ones inside. 

  
Because Kate had stolen his virginity in all the ways she could think of, all in the name of control and what she'd told him was love.

  
But she'd lied. Derek's eyes fill with tears, throat tight, as he looks down at the injuries in all their horrific glory and realizes she'd played him, all in an attempt to wipe out his family.

  
Stiles let go of his arm, and he mourns the loss. The ten-year-old instead climbs into his lap, careful, unbelievably mindful of his injuries. Skinny arms curl around Derek's neck and head, and he can't help but keen with the despair and betrayal he feels, burying his face against Stiles and clutching the frailer body to him.

  
Once those first few tears fall, it's like a dam breaks, and everything comes crashing down. He wails and sobs into Stiles loving, strangely protective embrace, feeling like he's shattering, like everything around him is burning and crumbling down at his feet. He's only vaguely aware of the others gathering around to offer comfort, to drain his pain, to reassure him that they'd take care of everything, that it would be okay. He can feel their distress echoing down his packbonds, the utter rage his mother feels when she sees the marks. When her eyes see the bruises around his throat, the cut under his hair at the back of his head, her bond throbs with her fury and need to protect, to avenge her offspring.

  
Derek shatters, screams, dissolves, and he feels his family gather him up to hold his pieces until they can be glued back together.

  
All the while, Stiles Stilinski's presence is a warm and glowing point of contact that will surely be there for him--them--throughout everything.

  
~*~~*~*~*~~*~

  
_Melissa McCall does an official medical exam and rape_ kit, sympathy and banked anger in her kind gaze. A rookie deputy by the name of Jordan Parrish, whom Noah is quite fond of and has high hopes for, and also smells Supernatural, takes Stiles' and Derek's official and only partially fabricated statements. Peter works with the DA office and police force to use all the evidence against Kate to take the Argents down.

  
Derek's injuries are more extensive than Talia could have ever imagined. Bruises, scratch marks, hickeys, whip marks from a riding crop Derek claims Kate favored, burns from a cattle prod, _anal tearing_ from where he'd been sodomized with a strap-on. She'd strangled Derek while riding him. Her baby had cried in the shower while he healed and washed the scent of Kate and sex and blood off thoroughly enough that his Alpha mother never suspected a thing.

  
For the nth time, she is so thankful for Mieczyslaw. He is there for Derek, holding his hand, so strong for someone so small. Not a soul is under the misconception that the boy, once named Mischief, wouldn't have been there, even without his magic. He acts as a soothing balm for the abused Hale son, ever watchful and vigilant in his self-appointed duty to Derek as he makes sure he is safe and cared for while the adults do their jobs.

  
It takes months to get any progress, which is one of the few things Talia hates about the laws of humans. Her wolf wants to eliminate the threat and go about her life. No other Hunter following the Code would fault her for it. She and her wolf rage silently as she watches her boy struggle through the trials, the investigations, the night terrors and the post-traumatic stress, the therapy Alan had helped set up with his talented sister. Honestly, she thinks he wouldn't be coping as well if not for the presence of the little Stilinski boy.

  
Noah is quick when he strikes. He has both Argents removed from the student board, and while he doesn't have enough to stick to Gerard just yet, Kate is promptly held in prison without bail on charges of child endangerment, multiple charges for the pedophilia and battery of a minor, and conspiracy to commit murder. Peter and the DA office do everything within their powers to make it stick. Gerard is charged with accessory, but there isn't enough evidence-- _yet_ \--to keep him in a cell.

  
He's released back into the public, but he is no longer employed with the school system, and he is forced to adhere to a restraining order where he is not allowed within 500 feet of anyone in the Hale family.

  
Months after the manifestation of his magic, Stiles gets another vision in the middle of school. The teachers and a girl named Erica Reyes mistake the episode as a seizure, and an ambulance is called while Erica coaches them on what to do, as she is epileptic and clearly knows how to react. Talia arrives at the hospital before Noah, even after picking up a panicked Cora and worried Derek from their separate schools. The Stilinskis had put her and Samuel down as emergency contacts, thankfully, and she paces the corridor while waiting for news from the tests they're running. Noah arrives, looking disheveled and terrified, because what if the seizures have something to do with the disease that stole his wife? He couldn't lose his son, especially not so soon.

  
Cora pipes up that Stiles hasn't been taking his Adderall on time, so the doctors scurry away with the information, not able to hear the lie that Talia and Derek can. Once alone, she admits to Noah that it was a lie, that he'd gotten a vision. The "seizure" had just been him in a trance, no convulsions involved, but because Stiles had been unable to respond to outside stimuli, those not In The Know had made the only logical conclusion they could.

  
It calms Noah, and they fake it till they make it, Stiles newly dosed with his Adderall--he'd admitted to skipping the morning's dose due to running late for school--and carrying discharge papers and an excuse to return to school in a couple days.

  
"Gerard Argent is going to destroy a different pack," Stiles says softly, leaning against his father while the man hugs him some time later. They're gathered on the couch in the Hale house, and Stiles has recovered enough to tell them his vision. "He contacted them in lieu of forming a truce as well as offering a way to obtain some sort of goal the Alpha wants. But he betrays them, injures and permanently blinds the Alpha, and the Alpha goes insane a little bit with the resulting wolfsbane poisoning, which makes him kill his betas. Gerard wants the Alpha Spark, but the Alpha manages to escape." He sips hot chocolate that Peter brings in for the kids, and he curls fingers around the mug almost possessively. "If this comes to pass, the Alpha will recruit other corrupted Alphas and form an Alpha Pack, who will then wreak homicidal havoc across the country."

  
"Do you know the name of the Alpha, sweet boy?" Peter asks gently, already pulling out his phone so that he can make a call, either to the Alpha directly, or to a contact that can possibly locate the future victim.

  
"I didn't catch the name," Stiles says with a frown. "I remember a somewhat British accent. Light brown hair. He spoke of peace."

  
"Deucalion!" Talia gasps. Her eyes fly to Peter. "Call Deuc, make sure he knows we have definitive proof that treaty meeting he wants will be a disaster. My God, I didn't even know it was supposed to be with Argent!" She ends up grabbing the phone out of Peter's hand, exiting the room to apparently make the call herself.

  
"Deucalion is an ally and one of Mom's friends," Derek explains when Stiles expression remains bewildered.

  
"Well that explains why I had a vision about a stranger," the smaller boy responds. "I don't imagine my life would be very comfortable if I had unfiltered visions of people I don't know. If they're somehow connected to me or you guys, it'll be more helpful." He sips from the hot chocolate.

  
"Clever boy," Peter murmurs, sounding oddly proud, although Derek has noticed Uncle Peter seems fond of Stiles, as though he was also a nephew.

  
With the predicted even circumvented, Deucalion offers his services to assist in the battle against the Argents, eternally grateful for Stiles' ability to save his pack and his sanity. Hunters that follow and enforce the Code come forward with information once the word gets out, but not enough to make much of a dent in the inch-thick iron defenses the ancient family has. For a time, it almost seems hopeless. They can definitely convict Kate of the gross sexual abuse and misconduct, but that won't put her away forever, nor will it deal the damage needed to the Argent patriarch. Piss him off, certainly, but not put him out of commission.

  
"You know, it used to be that the Argent bloodline was run under a matriarchal system," Peter mentions one day when Cora, Derek, and Stiles are left under his care for the day. "I wonder what happened to Mrs. Argent."

  
And of course, because he can't let a mystery go, he starts digging into what seems to be a simple case of heart failure in a previously healthy woman of barely sixty-five years.

  
An unexpected trump care comes in the form of Christopher Argent, Gerard Argent's estranged son. The man brings them a flash drive with proof of his father's plans, both past and future: the murder of his wife with a drug that dissolved quickly in the body to be untraceable in autopsy, plans for slaughtering the Hale Pack and contingency plans after Kate was incarcerated, the plans for betraying Deucalion Blackwood, evidence of his involvement in the decimation of other packs over the past decade.

  
The Hales, of course, are wary of the other Hunter, but Chris desperately explains how his father had been pressuring him to allow him to train his daughter, to drag her into the Hunter world, Gerard's world, where rules and centuries-old Code seem to mean nothing anymore. Kate in prison threw a wrench into the old man's schemes, and he wants sweet, impressionable Allison under his thumb where he can brainwash her and turn her against Chris, who has done all he could to buffer the supernatural world against the senior Hunter. He wants Allison to take Kate's place, killing indiscriminately and with extreme prejudice, not even aware of it because she's so young and still loves her grandfather.

  
Allison is Stiles' and Cora's age. There's no way any of them could let such a sweetheart as shown in the picture Chris keeps in his wallet suffer Gerard's corruption.

  
They accept Chris and his daughter into the fold, though with some reservations, as they don't want to put their full trust in a Hunter just yet. The police department and DA's office eat up the evidence against the man, especially when the forensic's department confirms no tampering or illegal fabrication.

  
As soon as they've developed a firm plan of attack, however, Stiles goes missing.

  
This time it's right from under their noses. A parent's worst nightmare. The Hales stop at the grocery store for a few items to make a welcome-home dinner for Laura's spring break after picking the minors up from school. Stiles heads to the restroom halfway through the trip while the rest of them went to the meat department. They've done it a hundred times, and everyone knows Stiles through Claudia and/or the Sheriff.

  
He never comes back. Never rejoins them. He's gone without a sound.

  
That is what alerts them. They usually can hear the bubbly boy chattering to everyone on his way back, or his arrhythmic heartbeat, or his unsteady, clumsy gait. It doesn't take him more than ten minutes for a restroom break, and he hadn't mentioned being sick.

  
They alert the employees that the Sheriff's son is missing. They call a Code Adam, and the store is immediately shut down so no one can leave or enter while they hunt for Stiles.

  
He's already long gone, and Derek's heart thumps hard as he reports to his mother that the restroom smelled of wolfsbane and gunpowder. Talia makes the heartwrenching call to Noah that his only child has gone missing. When security feeds are checked, they can see two large adult men enter the restroom twenty minutes before Stiles. Four minutes after Stiles went in, they come out, acting like concerned parents or relatives of the seemingly sleepy boy as one carries Stiles--like a dad with a toddler--and the other appears to coddle and pet Stiles.

  
The entire time, they were angled so cameras didn't catch their faces. Their clothes were nondescript T-shirts and jeans. No one had suspected anything of them as they somehow incapacitated Stiles and then abducted him under the guise of a same-sex family.

  
The whole of Beacon Hills is shut down, and the entire police force, plus volunteers from neighboring towns, assist in the search for Mieczyslaw Stilinski. The unspoken law of messing with the Sheriff's kind has been broken, and the fact that the supernatural are involved can only help their cause. Chris uses old contacts and draws on a few favors, and with all of them working nonstop, the cohorts are tracked down in an abandoned warehouse and brought in for questioning.

  
After a few hours of interrogation, necessary for the eyes of the human law, especially those not In The Know, the men are released, likely believing they got away with their crimes. Then Peter and Talia do their own song and dance at abduction. Peter is far less professional and infinitely more ruthless in his interrogation, and in less than an hour, one of the men calls in an "anonymous" tip, holding the phone with broken fingers, advising the Sheriff of the location of his abducted son: Gerard Argent's basement. They are released into the custody of the Hunter Council to be punished in light of their crimes against the Code and the harm of an innocent human child.

  
Noah wastes no time as he gathers a team for a raid, and Peter helpfully works with the DA to get as many search and seizure warrants they can possibly procure for the illegal weapons and proof of illegal proceedings within the house. Talia dons a bulletproof vest and joins the raid, just in case supernatural expertise and abilities are needed. She wears a mask to protect against the wolfsbane that undoubtedly coats most surfaces within the radical Hunter's home.

  
They easily flood the house making arrests on every person they cross, seizing every weapon they come across, the prescription drugs and controlled substances, the poisons, all computers and electronic devices for forensic analysis. Chris Argent allows them access to places that would have been overlooked or locked against them, further assisting in the condemnation of his parent.

  
What they find in the basement makes Noah vomit on sight.

  
There are torture devices strewn throughout the room, which has several cages and a barred-off cell, making it more of a dungeon than a basement, especially with the medieval nature of some of the devices. Wicked-looking hooks, a tray of lethal surgical utensils including a bone-saw and scalpel, a pear of anguish, a chair rigged up to an old machine once used for electroshock therapy, a rack, canes, whips and floggers, a wooden horse, an Iron Maiden, all manner of blades, and a coal stove with branding pokers leaning against it.

  
In the middle of it all, hanging suspended from the ceiling by thick chains, dangles ten-year-old Stiles, balancing and slipping atop a large block of ice in a metal tub, his little feet blue from the exposure. He's naked and covered in bruises and lash marks, trembling from the cold. There's a stench that suggests he'd been left to soil himself, a hose coiled up nearby where they sprayed him off before the torture continued. Duct tape muffles any noises he would have made, a rough strip of fabric covering his eyes. Upon closer inspection, as Noah and Deputy Parrish dash forward to get the little boy down, they see that not only is he blindfolded and gagged, but there are plugs blocking ears, effectively simulating sensory deprivation torture on top of everything else.

  
Despite the bruises and lacerations, the agony surely wracking his small frame, Stiles thrashes when they touch him, terrified and defiant, tears seeping out from beneath the blindfold. Noah removes the plugs and shushes him, whispering softly and trying to calm him while Parrish does the rest.

  
Gerard is found sleeping peacefully in a bed and awakens to a rougher-than-necessary arrest.

  
An on-scene EMT takes Stiles from the torture chamber, and he and Noah rush off to the hospital to treat the youth for the torture he'd endured for the eighteen hours it took to find him. He's treated for the bruises and lacerations, a concussion, a burn mark on his side from a taser, dehydration, mild hypothermia, and three broken ribs. 

  
Later, Stiles tells them his side of events. They won't require a child to go up before jurors, especially one as young as he is, so he makes his statement to his dad and two other attending deputies. He'd been grabbed just after zipping up in front of the urinal, and before he could scream, they'd injected him in the neck with something that made him sleep and loose-limbed but no unconscious. They'd been gentle up until he'd been deposited in the basement, where Gerard had taunted him about his weakness as a "traitor human," that his visions he'd somehow learned of wouldn't help him now. He'd demanded information on the Hales' and Deucalion's packs, and the investigations performed on himself and Kate--as if a child would know about confidential case details. He punched and kicked Stiles when he smarted off with sharp sarcasm. When Stiles refused to speak at all, he'd started the whippings and threatening to hurt everyone else he loved once Stiles had been dumped in a ditch outside the Preserve like the trash he was.

  
But Stiles didn't give in, and he only cried a little through the whole thing, because this was nothing compared to what he'd felt when he'd experienced the premonition of the Hale House Fire.

  
Meanwhile, Deputy Parrish and Peter take over the procedures needed to make sure Gerard Argent is put away for as long as his insane daughter.

  
The raid digs up a treasure trove of corruption and evidence, which only solidifies the intel Chris had already provided, and adds to it. Argent's defense lawyer barely has a leg to stand on. Peter is brutal as he represents Stiles in the trial for abduction and torture. They have to turn the prosecution to one of his partners in the firm he co-owns when the trial turns to the conspiracy to commit murder against the Hale family, and the actual murders of other Packs.

  
The man had kidnapped Stiles to send a message to the Hale Pack and local law enforcement, but it had only served to be the nail in his coffin.

  
The attending jurors take very little time to deliberate. He is found guilty on multiple charges of murder, torture, abduction, conspiracy to commit murder, harboring illegal weapons and drugs, harboring fugitives--as several of the Hunters arrested during the raid were wanted on felony warrants--and money laundering--to name a few. The bastard will rot in jail for a very long time if the inmates don't take care of him first.

  
Now all they have to do is focus on the recovery of the traumatized children between the two families.

  
Both boys are damaged in their own right. They both suffer night terrors and paranoia. Derek can't bear the touch of a female that he isn't related to. He goes nearly catatonic at the scent of strong perfumes. Stiles can't bare to be completely alone, even needs someone to be waiting nearby while he showers, nor can anyone approach him from behind without setting him off into severe panic attacks. Both watch strangers' hands warily, crowding close to their family members, and no one lets anyone go to public restrooms on their own anymore. Derek has had more time to recover from his trauma, so he offers the support the younger boy needs, just as Stiles had done from the beginning of this whole months-long fiasco.

  
The kids somehow make it through the rest of the school year with passing grades. Stiles has to swallow his pride when Lydia Martin gets better marks than him due to everything that has happened to or around him the past year. Noah sits him down and tells him with conviction how proud he is of Stiles, that the boy is much stronger than anyone expected him to be after what he's suffered. That he was able to graduate middle school at all was a feat. He would have all of next year to prove he was better than Lydia, if he wanted, but Noah and the Hales would love him regardless.

  
The little pep-talk only makes Stiles more determined, which Noah and Talia almost counted on.

  
Laura comes back for the summer, and she helps take care of the younger kids between hanging with friends and picking up a part-time job at the local diner. The summer brings a sense of relaxation and safety. The Stilinskis and McCalls are invited to the Hale Family Reunion in the middle of June. The rest first month of summer break is spent just focusing on healing Derek and Stiles, and they improve without the added stress of school and societal pressures. Therapy procures positive results with few setbacks, and frequent sleep-overs solidify the packbonds that have formed with Claudia's son and husband.

  
When they see more smiles on their faces than anything else, and the night terrors and panic attacks noticeably abate, Talia and Samuel get together with Melissa and Noah to plan a trip to the beach with the kids. Peter owns private property on the coast, about ten square miles of some forest and beachfront property. Because it is private and warded with magic, there will be no worry about the usual crowds summertime vacations bring to the beaches, which would only help Derek and Stiles in the long run.

  
Once their jobs are squared away, the first week of July, Talia and her husband and children, Peter, Noah and Stiles, and Melissa and Scott pile into three vehicles and head for the large beach house for a week's vacation they so desperately need.

  
Stiles practically vibrates with excitement all the way there, like a spastic puppy. He's never been on a vacation that was further than Beacon County, and he's only ever seen the beach on TV. No one has the heart to be annoyed when they see the precious smile on his face, the sparkle in his eyes they thought would never come back.

  
As soon as they arrive, Stiles makes a break for it, Cora and Derek close on his heels as he runs for the edge of the beach where the waves break against the shore. While the adults unpack the cars and bring the bags inside the beach house, Cora and Derek sit on either side of Stiles, who stands motionless, bare feet in the sand and toes int he water, staring out across the ocean while Laura hovers ten yards away watchfully.

  
Peter and Noah decide to make a bonfire 15 feet from the water's edge. Talia and Sam run into town to get cook-out supplies, Laura helps Scott find long enough sticks to roast hot dogs and marshmallows on, using her claws to sharpen the ends. Somewhere along the line, Melissa and Scott had already been brought into The Know. Bright-eyed and naive boy that he is, Scott thought Werewolves were the coolest thing, aside from Stiles' ever-growing magic.

  
Cora and Stiles, once he seems to fall out of his awestruck trance, walk around the beach to shift through the sand and find the best shells that are strewn all over. Derek retrieves buckets from the beach house so they each have one to place their shells in. Cora goes for color and shape, but Stiles seems to have a specific image that needs to be met with each choice of his shells. Derek picks up a select few, but only enough that can fit in his pockets.

  
By the time the sun sets over the waterline, the Pack and Pack-Adjacent humans have all settled around the bonfire. They roast hotdogs on the gathered sticks, and Melissa whips up some Italian pasta salad to go with them and potato chips. Then they do s'mores, where everyone gets unbelievably sticky to go with the sand. It's all good fun and filled with more laughter than they've had since Stiles' first vision nine months ago.

  
Several showers later, and they are all too tired to do much else but form a puppy pile to cuddle and sleep while the blasting air conditioning cools the overheated Werewolf bodies, which provide enough warmth for human companions that might find it too cold. Melissa and Noah avoid the pile of bodies, cushions, pillows, and blankets, instead using one of the three guest rooms. They never grew up with this kind of closeness, which can be uncomfortable for any species no made like Werewolves, but Scott and Stiles have acclimated and fit in quite well, like honorary pups.

  
Derek wakes up from the best sleep he's had in a while when he feels the absence of a packmate. He rolls away and blearily looks around until he locates the missing body; he sees that Stiles has made his way out onto the wrap-around patio, watching the sunrise over the treeline of forest behind the beach house, blanket around his shoulders. The Werewolf pads out to join him and pushes and prods until he can squish his way into the cushioned chair with him, arms curling around the smaller boy sleepily.

  
"It's pretty here," Stiles says quietly, head leaning against Derek's shoulder. "Peaceful."

  
"Yeah," Derek agrees simply, snuffling affectionately at Stiles' short hair. "I think that's why Uncle Peter bought this place. He's always had times that he needs to retreat. Sometimes you just need to get away. And after all the bullshit we've gone through recently, I think we all deserve a little peace and quiet."

  
Stiles hums in agreement. He nuzzles Derek's neck, like a packmate would scent another, curled close and sleepy as they watch the sky burst in red and oranges and pinks, the fiery star rising over the trees lazily. Derek vaguely hears his mother getting up and starting a pot of coffee. The smell and sound of the percolating machine sings a song like a siren's to the cop in Noah, who is lured out of bed, and once they both have a mug of the steaming, dark liquid, they join their sons out on the patio to witness the tail end of the sunrise. Noah rubs Stiles' head and shoulder, and Talia combs her fingers through Derek's bedhead.

  
Eventually, they putter back inside, and Stiles and Melissa work on breakfast for them all, which is no easy task with five Werewolves, three of whom are still effectively teens with bottomless pits for stomachs. Peter pitches in a little with the easy things, like toast and cutting up fruit. By the time the food--skillet potatoes, sausage patties, scrambled eggs, fruit, toast, and bagels--has all been assembled, everyone else has woken up and dragged themselves to the kitchen to eat, Scott the last to arrive.

  
The rest of the day is spent exploring the ten miles worth of beach Peter owns, and everyone takes turns making sure the human boys are slathered down in sunscreen top to bottom at all times--especially Stiles with his fair-skinned Polish complexion from both parents. The adults are ever watchful, especially when the youngsters go into the ocean to frolic and swim, mindful of how anything could go wrong at any time. Stiles finds a bunch of sea glass that he gleefully hoards with his shells. Peter suggests scuba-diving lessons in the future, and Stiles' eyes sparkle at the notion.

  
They have dinner inside this time as the sky opens up in a mild thunderstorm. Derek again finds Stiles out on the porch, shells and sea glass gathered in a pile in his lap in the chair he occupies. Derek sits on the floor close to him, watching as he uses a tool that looks a little like the pick people use to get walnuts out of their shells to carve and scrape at the shells and glass delicately.

  
"What are you doing?" Derek asks after a while. 

  
"I'm carving runes," Stiles replies, not breaking concentration.

  
"What for?" 

  
"I'm making these into protection charms," the human says after a minute. "Dr. Deaton showed me a book. One of them is gonna be for Scott for his asthma so he doesn't need his inhaler as much. I can put two runes on each of these, so for you furry butts, I'm putting protections against wolfsbane and mountain ash. It won't completely nullify the effects, but you'll be able to break a mountain ash circle, and the wolfsbane will be slower to reach your hearts as well as less painful until you can get treatment. For dad, I'm putting a charm that will enhance that cop's intuition he has, and an everyday good luck charm. For Melissa, I've found a rune that will promote a better night's sleep since sometimes she doesn't get a lot, and both she and Scott are getting the one that fortifies the immune system since she's around sick people all the time."

  
Derek listens quietly as Stiles talks and explains the runes, watching still childish fingers as they carefully scrape and scratch, carving artistic characters. "You put a lot of thought into this," he says eventually.

  
"Yeah." The human nods and sets down the purple piece of sea glass Cora had tried to steal earlier in the day. "You all are my family, after all. We're Pack. I want my Pack safe. I have magic, my own from birth and the magic my mom gave me. What better use do I have for it than to make sure my loved ones are well and happy."

  
Derek smiles and nods. They fall back to silence, listening to the rain and distant thunder, to the ocean, to the quiet murmur of their family inside, and to the soft, dedicated scratching of a budding Spark's tool on a chosen medium of art.

  
Their souls settle, healing slowly but steadily from their pasts, and their futures shine bright with promise.

**Author's Note:**

> I might write a sequel to this set in the future with teenage Stiles. I'm on the fence on it, especially since it would require a commitment I am usually unable to stick to. We'll see. Maybe if it's well received, I'll have motivation to do it. I hope you all enjoyed! Comments = love


End file.
